The oxidatively induced DNA lesions 2,6-diamino-4-hydroxy-5-formamidopyrimidine (FapyG) and 4,6-diamino-5-formamidopyrimidine (FapyA) are formed abundantly in DNA of cultured cells or tissues exposed to ionizing radiation or to other free radical-generating systems. In vitro studies indicate that these lesions are miscoding, can block the progression of DNA polymerases, and are substrates for base excision repair. However, no study has yet addressed how these lesions are metabolized in cellular extracts. The synthesis of oligonucleotides containing FapyG and FapyA at defined positions was recently reported. These constructs allowed us to investigate the repair of Fapy lesions in nuclear and mitochondrial extracts from wild type and knock-out mice lacking the two major DNA glycosylases for repair of oxidative DNA damage, OGG1 and NTH1. The background level of FapyG/FapyA in DNA from these mice was also determined. Endogenous FapyG levels in liver DNA from wild type mice were significantly higher than 8-hydroxyguanine levels. FapyG and FapyA were efficiently repaired in nuclear and mitochondrial extracts from wild type animals but not in the glycosylasedeficient mice. Our results indicated that OGG1 and NTH1 are the major DNA glycosylases for the removal of FapyG and FapyA, respectively. Tissue-specific analysis suggested that other DNA glycosylases may contribute to FapyA repair when NTH1 is poorly expressed. We identified NEIL1 in liver mitochondria, which could account for the residual incision activity in the absence of OGG1 and NTH1. FapyG and FapyA levels were significantly elevated in DNA from the knock-out mice, underscoring the biological role of OGG1 and NTH1 in the repair of these lesions.A large number of DNA base modifications are formed by oxidative damage to DNA (for review, see Ref. 1). Some of these lesions are generated at high rates, even in the absence of exogenous DNA-damaging agents. For instance, it was estimated that 100 -500 8-hydroxyguanines 3 are formed per day in a human cell (2). 8-oxoG is one of the most studied DNA lesions, and it is often used as a biomarker of oxidative DNA damage. However, ring-opened formamidopyrimidine lesions, 2,6-diamino-4-hydroxy-5-formamidopyrimidine (FapyG) and 4,6-diamino-5-formamidopyrimidine (FapyA), are formed at equal or higher levels than 8-oxoG after oxidative stress (3-5). These lesions result from hydroxyl radical attack on guanine and adenine, respectively, followed by one-electron reduction of the hydroxyl adduct radicals (1), which are also intermediates in the formation of 8-oxoG and 8-oxoA (6). Formation of Fapy lesions in DNA upon UV radiation has also been reported (7). FapyA (8) and FapyG (9) are miscoding in vitro, both directing the preferential misincorporation of adenine opposite the lesions by a bacterial DNA polymerase (Klenow exo Ϫ ). Experiments using the methylated analogue of FapyG, i.e. 2,6-diamino-4-hydroxy-5-Nmethylformamidopyrimidine (Me-FapyG), have suggested that formamidopyrimidines might also constitute blocks to DNA poly...